An Outsider's Point of View

Summary:
There is something about their presence that sends chills down one's spine, some sort of natural aversion that everyone feels toward them that tells you to look away from them before they look back...

Notes:
I imagine that this would be set pre-Twilight because the "outsider" could be anyone (other than Bella, of course).

1. Chapter 1

At a table sit five fair-skinned people, set apart from the other, rowdier high school students in the cafeteria. To an outsider, they are silent and appear to be ignoring everything and everyone around them; to an outsider, it is almost sad to look over at the friendless Cullen children. But not sad enough to speak to them; not sad enough to sit with them. No, never that sad, for there is something about their presence that sends chills down one's spine, something that tells you to look away from them before they look back.

If an outsider is more observant (they rarely are), then they will notice the slightest movement of the largest boy's lips. They may even hear the faint whisper that accompanies it, then shake their head in disbelief because they must've imagined the sound. A whisper that fast would not be understood--could not be understood--by a human.

What the outsider won't see, however, is that the Cullens aren't human. The blonde girl whispers back to the large boy beside her. It is barely noticeable that the corners of her mouth are pointing downward as she speaks. The bronze-haired boy looks up at his spiky-haired sister slowly and casually, almost too casually, as though he is trying to communicate something without words. She lowers her eyes to her tray of uneaten food and then glances at the blonde boy beside her.

The outsider may unintentionally do something life-threatening. They may flip their hair innocently or walk by the table, unable to see the torment they are causing the blonde boy, who is fidgeting in his seat uncomfortably. They don't hear him thinking of how delicious their crimson blood will taste, sticky and sweet like honey as it satisfies the never-ending hunger that plagues him.

But one boy does.

As the blonde boy makes the swiftest movement to leave his seat, the other boy's hand pulls him back. The tiny, spiky-haired girl hisses to him, "Jasper, please." Her voice sends sense back into his mind and he is able to control his hunger for now, but a slave can only ignore his master for so long before he is punished.

The bronze-haired boy smiles at Jasper encouragingly. "We'll make arrangements to go hunting tonight," he says. If an outsider is sharp enough to catch this (they never are), they will not truly understand the statement. Jasper nods.

"Looks like a good idea, Edward," the small girl replies, staring into space dreamily.

"Bears would be nice," the large boy says, grinning.

The blonde girl beside him rolls her eyes and mutters, "Honestly, Emmett, do you ever tire of grizzlies?"

"Lucky for you, Rose, grizzlies don't appear to be on the menu tonight," the other girl says. "You're going to love your catch."

"Stop it, Alice!" Rose barks under her breath. "You do know how annoying that is, right?" Her face is set in an angry expression, but the hint of a grin can be seen in her coal-black eyes.

Alice flashes a dazzling smile in her sister's direction. "Time to go," she announces, bouncing up from her seat. The others follow suit.

An outsider sees a group of five attractive students throwing away untouched lunches and walking out of the cafeteria with a silent, god-like grace. A fleeting thought comes to mind: what secrets are there among the Cullens? But they then shrug it off; how many secrets could possibly be kept in a town like Forks?